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New kid on the block

Posted on: February 7, 2011 - 9:08pm

TGBaker

Posts: 1367

Joined: 2011-02-06

Offline

New kid on the block

Hello,

I'm Tommy. I have a degree from a fundamentalist Bible College. I wrote such papers as the Error of Inerrancy and God does paly Dice. I graduated summa cum laude with an understanding that I was not to grace their pulpits. I did a semester at a liberal seminary (Emory) and concluded that liberal theology was as dogmatic and doctrinal as the conservative. I did some master level studies on philosophy. I got bored and did social work and therapy groups for 20 years. I studied quantum physics and science throughout the 40 years of questioning. focusing on the last "explanatory gaps"--what the hell is before the big bang and what is consciousness -- I moved from being agnosticism to atheism. So I thought I'd hang around here for a while if that's OK.

"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whip cream."--Frank Zappa

I'm Tommy. I have a degree from a fundamentalist Bible College. I wrote such papers as the Error of Inerrancy and God does paly Dice. I graduated summa cum laude with an understanding that I was not to grace their pulpits. I did a semester at a liberal seminary (Emory) and concluded that liberal theology was as dogmatic and doctrinal as the conservative. I did some master level studies on philosophy. I got bored and did social work and therapy groups for 20 years. I studied quantum physics and science throughout the 40 years of questioning. focusing on the last "explanatory gaps"--what the hell is before the big bang and what is consciousness -- I moved from being agnosticism to atheism. So I thought I'd hang around here for a while if that's OK.

NO IT IS NOT OK FOR YOU TO HANG OUT WITH US.................. Unless you answer these questions honestly.

Have you ever been a member of the communist party?(No wait, that is a Glen Beck fear mongering conspiracy question) Never mind...skip this one.

Can you barbecue a kitten with one pitchfork tied behind your back?

If no, please exit and leave peacefully.

If yes, leave your recipe at the door with the bouncer and join us getting loaded, tanked and join us in our lawlessness.

OR, just ignore all this silliness and accept my welcome.

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."ObamaCheck out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under BrianJames Rational Poet also on twitter under Brianrrs37

Just to go ahead and get it out of the way, I'll give you the argument that religious people are always tossing at me when they find out I used to be devoutly religious : WELL, THE ONLY CONCLUSION I CAN DRAW IS THAT YOU MUST NEVER HAVE REALLY BEEN A CHRISTIAN !!!!!!

Why theists try to insist that this must be so for every ex-member of their flock is a mystery that I have as of yet to solve.

“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno

Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespearehttp://myanimelist.net/profile/butterbattle

Just to go ahead and get it out of the way, I'll give you the argument that religious people are always tossing at me when they find out I used to be devoutly religious : WELL, THE ONLY CONCLUSION I CAN DRAW IS THAT YOU MUST NEVER HAVE REALLY BEEN A CHRISTIAN !!!!!!

Why theists try to insist that this must be so for every ex-member of their flock is a mystery that I have as of yet to solve.

Calvinism and predestination requires that either you were preordained by God to be saved or neglected beforehand for condemnation to the fires of Hell. If ya was chosen by god before he made the world then you're always were and will be a Christian. If not you may think you are a Christian but you are deluded. Therefore to them you got over the delusion that you are one of the elct and have shown your true Satanic colors

"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whip cream."--Frank Zappa

Calvinism and predestination requires that either you were preordained by God to be saved or neglected beforehand for condemnation to the fires of Hell. If ya was chosen by god before he made the world then you're always were and will be a Christian. If not you may think you are a Christian but you are deluded. Therefore to them you got over the delusion that you are one of the elct and have shown your true Satanic colors

But you don't run into many Calvinist or rather I haven't. Most Christians poo-poo that. "No TULIPs for me". Despite it being totally consistent with scripture, they had to invent the non-scriptural concept of free-will. It is very American, you can do anything you want. Born in sin, screw it, if you set your mind to anything, you can make it happen. Otherwise what is the point of prayer?

However, any smuck with a two-dollar prayer book can disrupt the divine plan. Perhaps the world is not evil because of God, but because he is such a push over when it comes to his kids he will do whatever they say. One says make it rain, the other says stop the rain. No wonder the weathermen cannot get this right. One prays for his enemies forgiveness, the other prays for their punishment. It is all quite confusing BUT it is never gods fault. He is only just trying help.

I digress.

Welcome. Look forward to you adding to the conversations.

Religion Kills !!!

Numbers 31:17-18 - Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

Calvinism and predestination requires that either you were preordained by God to be saved or neglected beforehand for condemnation to the fires of Hell. If ya was chosen by god before he made the world then you're always were and will be a Christian. If not you may think you are a Christian but you are deluded. Therefore to them you got over the delusion that you are one of the elct and have shown your true Satanic colors

But you don't run into many Calvinist or rather I haven't. Most Christians poo-poo that. "No TULIPs for me". Despite it being totally consistent with scripture, they had to invent the non-scriptural concept of free-will. It is very American, you can do anything you want. Born in sin, screw it, if you set your mind to anything, you can make it happen. Otherwise what is the point of prayer?

However, any smuck with a two-dollar prayer book can disrupt the divine plan. Perhaps the world is not evil because of God, but because he is such a push over when it comes to his kids he will do whatever they say. One says make it rain, the other says stop the rain. No wonder the weathermen cannot get this right. One prays for his enemies forgiveness, the other prays for their punishment. It is all quite confusing BUT it is never gods fault. He is only just trying help.

I digress.

Welcome. Look forward to you adding to the conversations.

I think you are right. Most Christians do not go the full TULIP.

T -- total depravity. This doesn't mean people are as bad as they can be. It means that sin is in every part of one's being, including the mind and will, so that a man cannot save himself.

U -- unconditional election. God chooses to save people unconditionally; that is, they are not chosen on the basis of their own merit.

L -- limited atonement. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross was for the purpose of saving the elect.

I -- irresistible grace. When God has chosen to save someone, He will.

P -- perseverence of the saints. Those people God chooses cannot lose their salvation; they will continue to believe. If they fall away, it will be only for a time.

I live in Southern USA...the Bible Belt. It is very Baptist. They are firm on the P and often the I and U and sometimes T. They never go the L route because they believe Christ died for the whole world (John 3:16). Once saved always saved is the flavor of protestant belief all around me. So if you no longer believe they negate your past for you I enjoyed your comments.

"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whip cream."--Frank Zappa

I live in Southern USA...the Bible Belt. It is very Baptist. They are firm on the P and often the I and U and sometimes T. They never go the L route because they believe Christ died for the whole world (John 3:16). Once saved always saved is the flavor of protestant belief all around me. So if you no longer believe they negate your past for you I enjoyed your comments.

Quite a few of us on here happen to be stuck in the theocracy of the Bible Belt .

I currently live in Memphis, Tennessee but was originally born and raised in New Jersey. You can imagine the backlash that I sometimes get for being "one of them secular, communist, socialist, fascist, godless, perverted, Yankee Atheists that thinks people came from monkeys. But if we came from monkeys why is their still monkeys ? HUH ? ,".

Never sure how the communist, socialist, fascist label quite fits. But then again, if you say secular, alot of people automatically equivocate that to "godless, socialist, fascist, etc.etc.,".

“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno

I live in Southern USA...the Bible Belt. It is very Baptist. They are firm on the P and often the I and U and sometimes T. They never go the L route because they believe Christ died for the whole world (John 3:16). Once saved always saved is the flavor of protestant belief all around me. So if you no longer believe they negate your past for you I enjoyed your comments.

Quite a few of us on here happen to be stuck in the theocracy of the Bible Belt .

I currently live in Memphis, Tennessee but was originally born and raised in New Jersey. You can imagine the backlash that I sometimes get for being "one of them secular, communist, socialist, fascist, godless, perverted, Yankee Atheists that thinks people came from monkeys. But if we came from monkeys why is their still monkeys ? HUH ? ,".

Never sure how the communist, socialist, fascist label quite fits. But then again, if you say secular, alot of people automatically equivocate that to "godless, socialist, fascist, etc.etc.,".

"Secular" has been wrongfully, but successfully marketed by the right wing as being a dirty word. Basically it has been misused as a slur that really means, "Fuck you if you don't agree with me".

The assholes who sell this know exactly what they are doing and sell it to the credulous people who buy it and pick their pockets at the same time.

"Secular" is the opposite of "sectarian" and the the prefix "sect" is also part of the word "section". The truth is they use their bastardized version of "secular" to maintain their class monopoly which is one SECTION of our population.

"Secular" is simply the concept of neutrality not favoring one section of the population over another. It is the idea of preventing monopolies of power, such as the monopoly of power Communism in China has, and the monopoly of power the "section" of Islam in the "sect" of Shiites have in power in Iran.

The fools who buy this bullshit don't realize that they are setting up a future society that will have more centralized power. Instead of a political party, or a religious party, the "sect" that is having a monopoly of power is a class.

"Secular" fits in with the founders intent of anti-trust laws by remaining neutral. The right wing is nothing but a different form of power grab without any concern about whom they fuck over to get what they want.

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."ObamaCheck out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under BrianJames Rational Poet also on twitter under Brianrrs37

Quite a few of us on here happen to be stuck in the theocracy of the Bible Belt .

I currently live in Memphis, Tennessee but was originally born and raised in New Jersey. You can imagine the backlash that I sometimes get for being "one of them secular, communist, socialist, fascist, godless, perverted, Yankee Atheists that thinks people came from monkeys. But if we came from monkeys why is their still monkeys ? HUH ? ,".

Never sure how the communist, socialist, fascist label quite fits. But then again, if you say secular, alot of people automatically equivocate that to "godless, socialist, fascist, etc.etc.,".

I was born and raised in Memphis. The Catch 22 at least in Southern states is that to find like minded people you need to be close to the City which in turn means you are exposed to a high crime rate. My wife and I have a two year old so we always check the Sex Offender Registry before we move to an area. The dots on the map get thicker in relation to proximity to mid-town or even smaller municipalities for that matter. I went through a divorce 4 years ago so I took a promotion and moved to South Georgia and lived on Saint Simons Island for a couple of years. I worked for the state of Georgia. In south Georgia that still actually have prayer before that start their staff meetings or special lunches The guy that was training me for that office kept saying I love the lord and made references about my divorce. I had been with the State for 20 years. I survived about 6 months in that environment. Eventually we moved back to the Atlanta area. They actually had picketing and protests down there if the health food store had anything remotely New Age sounding like an acupuncture seminar etc.;

Mod edit: fixed quotes

"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whip cream."--Frank Zappa

I'm Tommy. I have a degree from a fundamentalist Bible College. I wrote such papers as the Error of Inerrancy and God does paly Dice. I graduated summa cum laude with an understanding that I was not to grace their pulpits.

You're a deviant, huh?

My kinda guy.

We should party, sometime...

TGBaker wrote:

I did a semester at a liberal seminary (Emory) and concluded that liberal theology was as dogmatic and doctrinal as the conservative. I did some master level studies on philosophy. I got bored and did social work and therapy groups for 20 years. I studied quantum physics and science throughout the 40 years of questioning. focusing on the last "explanatory gaps"--what the hell is before the big bang and what is consciousness -- I moved from being agnosticism to atheism. So I thought I'd hang around here for a while if that's OK.

Dude, it's been a pleasure to read your posts. I've learned so many facts about the gaps, contradictions, fallacies, and general foolishness of those ancient folklores.

I'm Tommy. I have a degree from a fundamentalist Bible College. I wrote such papers as the Error of Inerrancy and God does paly Dice. I graduated summa cum laude with an understanding that I was not to grace their pulpits.

You're a deviant, huh?

My kinda guy.

We should party, sometime...

TGBaker wrote:

I did a semester at a liberal seminary (Emory) and concluded that liberal theology was as dogmatic and doctrinal as the conservative. I did some master level studies on philosophy. I got bored and did social work and therapy groups for 20 years. I studied quantum physics and science throughout the 40 years of questioning. focusing on the last "explanatory gaps"--what the hell is before the big bang and what is consciousness -- I moved from being agnosticism to atheism. So I thought I'd hang around here for a while if that's OK.

Dude, it's been a pleasure to read your posts. I've learned so many facts about the gaps, contradictions, fallacies, and general foolishness of those ancient folklores.

I don't envy your tolerance, however, I must say. But, I'm picking nits.

You're a godsend (he,he) to atheism.

Or, should I say, "you're the Devil, you know?"

Ha! I'm poet, and didn't even know it!!

" Bartender, another round for me and my new friend."

"He's the Devil, you know?"

Thanks... I've enjoyed our tag teaming. You size it up and take no prisoners. It.s that old evangelical shit in me that probably accounts for the tolerance... I still wanna convert,,,but now for the "Other Side" I am learning that your method of hitting below the belt may be better in the long run. Ya hit them there hard enough and they can't reproduce. Yeh we'll hafta party for sure at least by teaming up on some of the irrational muggles. What can I say but rock and roll is my religionI've been playing guitar for 42 years and that's my spirituality. In the words of my god the great lord Jimi hendrix, excuse me while I kiss the sky...

"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whip cream."--Frank Zappa

I am afraid that is the nature of advertisement. Got ya to look now your hooked. Since you're here I have a new product. It is a complete remix of the new Kids on the block with techno-german rhythms and synth. For 12.95 and $10 shipping and handling....

"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whip cream."--Frank Zappa

Thanks... I've enjoyed our tag teaming. You size it up and take no prisoners. It.s that old evangelical shit in me that probably accounts for the tolerance... I still wanna convert,,,but now for the "Other Side" I am learning that your method of hitting below the belt may be better in the long run. Ya hit them there hard enough and they can't reproduce. Yeh we'll hafta party for sure at least by teaming up on some of the irrational muggles. What can I say but rock and roll is my religionI've been playing guitar for 42 years and that's my spirituality. In the words of my god the great lord Jimi hendrix, excuse me while I kiss the sky...

Or we could do like Ted Nugent, and get 'em in a stranglehold, Baby!

I keep asking myself " Are they just playin' stupid, or are they just plain stupid?..."

"To explain the unknown by the known is a logical procedure; to explain the known by the unknown is a form of theological lunacy" : David Brooks

" Only on the subject of God can smart people still imagine that they reap the fruits of human intelligence even as they plow them under." : Sam Harris

Thanks... I've enjoyed our tag teaming. You size it up and take no prisoners. It.s that old evangelical shit in me that probably accounts for the tolerance... I still wanna convert,,,but now for the "Other Side" I am learning that your method of hitting below the belt may be better in the long run. Ya hit them there hard enough and they can't reproduce. Yeh we'll hafta party for sure at least by teaming up on some of the irrational muggles. What can I say but rock and roll is my religionI've been playing guitar for 42 years and that's my spirituality. In the words of my god the great lord Jimi hendrix, excuse me while I kiss the sky...

Or we could do like Ted Nugent, and get 'em in a stranglehold, Baby!

I saw Nugent in concert with Kiss and Skid Row...awesome dude. Oh and I was friends with his drummer Cliff Davies who lived near me until he committed suicide. Good times

"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whip cream."--Frank Zappa